• Note that Rep. Becerra has ties to the most-liberal blocs in the House such as the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses as well as the Progressive Caucus.

• Another interesting attendee is Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN). He ran for the Senate unscessfully against Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) in 1994. 1994 was on the heels of the Democrats’ last debacle on health care reform. Thompson criticized Cooper for crafting a health care reform plan of his own, which he decired as “Hillary Lite.” Cooper’s health care reform efforts proved to be one of the reasons Thompson was able to best him in the 1994 contest.